MAFS' Evelyn and Duncan reveal surprising first impressions: 'Attitude'

They might not have been paired together on this year’s season of Married At First Sight, but Evelyn Ellis and Duncan James are one of the strongest couples to come from the reality show.

Two months after going public with their relationship, the pair have now opened up to Yahoo Lifestyle about their surprising first impressions of each other, where they had their first kiss, and how they first said ‘I love you’.

Who made the first move?

“Duncan did,” Evelyn asserts.

“We’ve discussed this a few times, it depends what a move means, doesn't it?” Duncan replies. “Is that like a text first? Or is that like the first time you decide you’re going to hang out? Or is it the first time it's more from hanging out into something else?

“But I mean, look, I'm probably the answer for most of those questions anyway.”

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What did you do on your first date?

“Was it the day you picked me up and took us on the boat?” Evelyn asks. “I think that was our official first date.

“Duncan really rolled out the red carpet. He picked me up, we went on the boat, he went and bought all this seafood and we had champagne [...] and just had a little beach boat picnic and it was gorgeous.”

“With the two doggos as well, obviously,” Duncan adds. “They're a package deal.”

Where was your first kiss?

“Our first kiss was Mardi Gras,” Evelyn says.

“Great way to remember our first kiss,” Duncan remarks, while she adds, “Covered in sparkles, butt naked in lingerie. Ah, those were the days.”

What were your first impressions of each other?

“What a wanker,” Evelyn jokes. “I’m kidding, no. My first impression of Duncan was obviously he went into the experiment a little earlier than I did and the photos had leaked of everyone. And I was going through the cast and there was a lovely, lovely photo of Duncan with his shirt off and a little Santa hat on the balcony and I thought, ‘He’s a bit alright!’.”

“Ev and the other ‘intruders’ were leaked before coming on the show,” Duncan shares. “One of my best friends sent me those pictures and was like, ‘These are the new intruders’. And so, yeah look, obviously I thought she was a very attractive woman, that was my first impression.

“I also thought, I was thinking with those looks might come with a particular type of attitude, but she wasn't like that actually. It's not until you actually spend sort of three days together when you do the partner swap that you actually get to know someone a little bit further. So that's when you can build a bit of a friendship and get to know them.”

Who said 'I love you' first?

“I did!” Duncan admits.

“I was feeling it for the longest time, but I was too scared to say it,” Evelyn adds. “And then one day I was waiting for him in my apartment, he was at the gym, and I was like, ‘God dammit he's taking so long’ and I was getting frustrated. And then he came in with a big bunch of flowers and I was like, ‘Oh, that's so sweet, I’m suddenly not frustrated anymore’. And then I opened the envelope and it said, ‘I love you’.”

“When we first started seeing each other, I thought we were going out for quite a while and then Ev was like, ‘Are you gonna ask me to be your girlfriend?’,” Duncan recalls. “I was like, ‘I thought that's what’s been happening over the last however many weeks’ and she was like, ‘No, you've never actually asked me in black and white’ and I was like, ‘Black and white, that sticks in my head’.

“So I asked her to be my girlfriend - that sounds so cliché, cringy and corny, but it was really cool. And so then I thought if it's like a momentous part where you're going to say ‘I love you’ to someone, I'm going to put it in black and white as well. So I had it in the card, she opened the card, and I was obviously just standing there when she was reading that and I was just like, ‘I bloody love you’.”

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